1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to computer user interfaces. More specifically, the invention relates to a method and system for improving the searching of computer files via representation of their content as icons.
2. Prior Art
Many functions in modern computers can be very time consuming. From having to wait to turn on the computer, waiting for all programs to load, and then finally having to wait to determine what each file contains. For example, a user is not familiar with a certain computer may want to find a file about car mechanics. That person would probably have to go to a separate directory, such as DOS, Windows Explorer, etc., in order to be able to find a certain file. After reaching the separate directory, the user would have to specify a search on all the files in a drive. After this long search a user would have to go through each file and read about the file and then sooner or later find the file they were looking for.
Another method to solve this problem is to conduct a basic search for file names on the computer's operating system. After conducting the search, the user would have to browse through different files and open every file separately and check to determine if the file is the one needed.
This can be a very long and useless process because of the amount of work needed to open and search through drives and directories. Other searches that compare keywords with text in documents can also be frustrating, especially for beginning users.
This process is also extremely lengthy and sometimes even pointless when considering the number of files that could show up in one file search. This method is very time consuming because of the fact that before the user finds the file he/she is looking for, they may have to go through opening a large number of files.
Another method is to use the icons listed throughout the drives and the desktop. By right clicking on an icon, the user can get a basic menu. Typically, one of the options on the menu is “properties,” which allows the user to view a small number of details about the file.
This process of trying to find a file is very unlikely to be helpful because it is almost a guess to as what files are the ones needed. The user would have to go through a large amount of files before he/she finds the one needed. This method is also very time consuming because the user would have to go through a number of files and spend a few minutes looking over the details of the files. Another reason why this method is not very helpful is because the details listed by the properties function are not very informative about the file's content.